Always
by BornThisWay
Summary: She told him to be careful .. Lilian Garcia ? One Shot ..


This is the product of today's 'Intro to Economics' lecture .. yes, I should have been listening but I'd just caught the results of No Mercy and this popped into my head. Please forgive any mistakes, I'm back on my blasted meds for my blood poisoning so I'm not 100 thinking straight .. just like a certain someone, the blood poisoning has chosen to make a timely return.

Disclaimer: I disclaim, I own nothing .. though I'd be willing to take Carlito off someone's hands for a fee ..

This goes out to Shout Diva & PugNTurtle .. for no other reason than the fact that I can dedicate it to them; they are both extremely talented, and extremely devoted Lilian Garcia fans (check out their stories, they are fantastic!). Thanks for supplying me with a seemingly never ending urge to try my hand at a Lilian fic ..

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Her gaze fell upon him as he continued to warm up in the corner of their locker room. He was fit as ever, ready to return from an injury that had had him sidelined for what seemed like forever. She was thrilled just to have him back. But at the same time she was scared.

"Please be careful out there," she pleaded, standing over him with her arms crossed. She would never forget the terror that had overcome her last time he had been in the ring. Shuddering, she closed her eyes. He would be careful, she knew. But wrestling was a dangerous business. There was no telling when something could go wrong and someone could get hurt.

"Lily." He pulled himself up so he was sitting facing her. "I'm always careful." He sighed inwardly. She was overreacting. He was wary of returning, but this was his problem, not hers. Still, he wanted to reassure her and make her feel better. "Nothing is going to happen, I promise you."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep," The small Diva countered hotly. "Look what happened last time! You got hurt, and then this happened .."

He smiled as she carried along on her little tangent. Once she started, there was really no point in stopping her. She was gesturing wildly with her hands, and as he moved toward her he clasped them in his own.

"Stop." He murmured. There was now barely a sliver of space between, yet Lilian was still talking at a million miles per hour.

"And when you were hurt I was so scared, I thought you were seriously injured," she bubbled, rushing on nervously.

"Lil. Stop."

"They thought your career might be over and you would never wrestle again! And you would miserable because wrestling is your life! Nothing could replace it! Nothing!"

"Lilian." By now one of his hands had dropped to her waist and their bodies were pressed tightly together. Yet Lilian failed to respond.

'Trish and I were so scared on the way to hospital and .."

"Lilian Anne Garcia!" He interrupted sternly, raising her chin so their eyes met.

She faltered momentarily at the sound of her full name. "What?"

Grinning broadly, he whispered, "You talk too much."

Moving forward he captured her lips with his, catching her by surprise. She moaned against his mouth, savoring the sudden contact between them and the taste of his kiss. Knowing that he now had he full attention, he chose that moment to gently massage her lower lip with his tongue, seeking entry. Tilting her head to the side to grant him better access, Lilian gripped his forearms firmly. Both of his hands were now at her waist, his fingers playing with the buttons on her mini skirt. Their tongues dueled feverishly as she began to grind her hips lightly against his before pulling back , breathless.

"I don't talk too much!" She pouted playfully, lowering her eyes to the waistband of her partner's tights.

He smirked, resting his forehead against hers. "Yeah, you do."

She stepped back out of his embrace, swatting his arm lightly. "Jerk." The small Latina moved further away, tugging his hands off her hips and dancing out of reach.

"Hey," he objected, frowning slightly. "Come back here, I wasn't finished." Summoning her toward him he began to crook a finger in her direction, moving toward her before she could skip away again. Hooking an arm around her waist, he spun her toward him and kissed her again. Smiling softly, he began to trace her features with his fingers. Their eyes met, her sparkling orbs piercing his cool stare. Coming together again, they kissed briefly before being interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Five Minutes! Get to the Gorilla, last call!"

Lilian poked her partner gently in the chest. "You have a match."

"Yes, that's why I'm here," he shot back sarcastically. "I do step into the ring and wrestle occasionally."

"Funny."

"I thought so," he joked, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Be careful?"

"Always." Kissing her cheek he picked up a towel and moved towards the door.

"Oh yeah. Don't forget to win," she teased.

Halfway out the door, he turned to her with a pained smile. "I thought you just wanted me to be careful."

Lilian arched an eyebrow in his direction. "You can't do both?"

As Lilian ducked to avoid the towel that was now flying in her direction, he groaned, slamming the door. "Garcia, you're going to be the end of me."

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Making his way out to the ring, he stopped momentarily. There was a raw energy circulating around the arena, an electric spark, similar to the one he usually experienced when he stepped into the squared circle. Wrestling was a primal existence; he could never quite explain the effect it had on him. It could chew him up, spit him out, yet he still came back for more. Listening to his name being announced, he looked to the sky before climbing the ring steps. Even with the cheering of the crowd, two words reverberated in his ears. Be careful.

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Lilian stood huddled around a monitor backstage. She was scared. This was his first time back in the ring, and after what had happened last time .. She jumped, a voice shaking out her out her reverie.

"Lilian?"

The petite announcer turned to face Stephanie McMahon. "Hey Steph," she replied, greeting her friend with a hug but not taking her eyes off the monitor for a moment.

"What are doing here? Did I move you to Smackdown! in a moment of hormonal pregnancy madness and then forget about you?" Her boss joked.

Lilian shook her head, thumbing her head in the direction of the monitor. Steph's eyes widened as realization hit. "Ah. I see."

"I just wanted to make sure everything is okay," she mumbled sheepishly.

"Lil, he's been in this business a long time. He'll be fine, I'm sure of it. He can handle himself."

Lilian nodded shakily. Why wasn't she so sure?

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He tied up with his opponent in the centre of the ring. He was afraid he'd be carrying some ring rust, but his nerves dissipated as he applied the leg scissors to his foe. He'd never admit it, but Lilian was right. He couldn't afford another injury, he couldn't bear to be away from the business. It was in his blood, coursing through him constantly. He smiled to himself, thinking of the gorgeous Diva back in the locker room waiting for him. He knew she'd have nothing to worry about.

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"Focus," she hissed at the screen. Cursing, she stood in the Gorilla waiting for the match result. She could tell he didn't have his head entirely in the match, and she knew that it was probably her fault. But right now, all she wanted him to do was come to the back safely.

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He was suddenly struck by a blow to the head, and pinned to the mat. C'mon, he mentally berated himself. Get your head in the game. He kicked out at two, and beat his opponent to the hard surface. Coming high off the ropes he cut his opponent open, and began to regain some momentum. He capitalised with a two count, before attempting to apply a submission maneuver.

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"That's it, that's it," she smiled, pumping a small fist in the air. She gasped at the sight of blood, sighing in relief when she realised it wasn't his. Her fears returned a second later, when he fell victim to a nasty clothesline. He wasn't moving, lying still as could be. Was that his neck he'd heard crack? He grimaced, pain rippling through his body. "Get up, get up."

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Using the ropes to pull himself to his feet, he felt a familiar taste on his tongue. Oh great, he thought wryly. Lilian is going to love that. The blood settled on his lip, and trickled down his chin. Lurching around the ring, he used an arm bar take down to pull his opponent to the mat. He tucked the guys arm between his legs and locked in his hands. It was in.

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Backstage, Lilian was jumping up and down for joy. He was going to win! No one had ever escaped his finisher; she didn't know why she'd been so worried. More importantly, he was safe.

She watched eagerly as the other man tapped to the submission maneuver and her partner's arm was raised in victory. He stared into the barrel of the camera, and he knew she was watching. He quickly slid out of the ring, thanking Mike Chioda for the match and hurried up the ramp. Bursting backstage into the Gorilla, he ignored the congratulations of the locker room and staff. He had one focus, and he made a beeline for her the moment he saw her. Her back to him, he spun her around and laid one on her. Not at all surprised this time, she kissed him back with an equal amount of passion, virtually leaping off the floor into his arms. They came together for an instant, her mouth firmly attached to his before they withdrew, realising they were still standing in the hall. Their audience began a chorus of whistling and cat calls but they simply faded away as the pair focused solely on each other.

Lilian touched her swollen lip, and came up with blood. "I told you to take care of yourself," she cried. "Look at you!"

"You also told me to win," he replied with a gravelly voice. "I did."

"You were supposed to do both," she protested, a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh I'm sorry," he retorted. "Next time, you can go out in my place and show me how it's done, okay?"

"No way. I know where my talent lies, and it is not in that ring."

"No," he replied suggestively, which was quite out of character of him. "It's not."

She gaped back at him, aghast. Where had that come from? She was about to reply when he silenced her.

"Even if you did have to go out there, I would find a way to protect you." He said shyly.

"Really?" Her voice was hopeful, searching for the trace of honesty in his voice.

"Yes. Always. "

Satisfied, she threw her arms around him and pulled him close. "And I would do the same for you, Chris Benoit."

"Always."


End file.
